


Right Out Of His Closet

by PokeNeo



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 12:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19229161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokeNeo/pseuds/PokeNeo
Summary: ***WARNING - contains homophobia and hints at violence. I've tried to convey difficult topics as sensitively as possible as this seems to be where I come into my own when writing but I'll leave that up to you!***James returns to HQ after the Flaming Moltres incident to discover Butch and Cass have spread it around like wildfire. Faced with homophobic attacks, James confronts Butch...





	Right Out Of His Closet

The lavender haired man kept his gaze to the floor, his head bowed as he scuttled quickly across the grounds of the Team Rocket headquarters. He was trying desperately not to be seen. 3 days ago Jessie, James and Meowth had finally arrived back from the Johto region. It was common knowledge that their primary focus had been to stalk some random kid for his Pikachu. Twice before they had been mocked ruthlessly for failing to return with the special electric rodent. This time was different though, this time it went beyond the usual jeering between Rocket grunts. This time, the abuse was aimed solely at James.  
  
He gulped as he turned a corner and came face to face with a scattering of Rockets out in the courtyard. Some were smoking, others just chatting casually. James glanced nervously over his shoulder but realised there was no other way to go to get where he needed to be. He would have to walk past them... his legs felt shaky and his heart rate increased as he slowly stumbled forward. It wasnt long before the cruel taunts began.  
  
"Oh look here comes gay boy James!"  
"I am a flaming Moltres!!!!!"  
"DID the outfit come out of your closet? You should have shown us a picture!"  
"Flaming Moltres? Flaming faggot more like!"  
  
James kept his head bowed and his teeth gritted dashing past the crowd as quickly as he could. His shaky legs eventually broke into a run which was just as well as he could feel the tears forming in his eyes. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as a beer can came flying from behind and struck him. Not daring to stop, he reached up and immediately felt some sticky blood. The cackles of the grunts were still ringing in his ears when he arrived back at the dorm room he shared with Jessie and Meowth. James fumbled with his keys in a panic, eventually got into the room and allowed the door to slam behind him. He leant up against it, still shaking and trying to catch his breath. In his relief at finally being away from the abuse of others he failed to notice the note Jessie had left for him at first. He cautiously picked it up and read it.  
  
_"Gone for a wander round the shops with Meowth. Don't let any small minded idiots get to you. Be back later. J x"_  
  
James went to crumple the note in his hands but stopped in his tracks and gazed out into the gardens below. He could just make out a familiar figure the other side of a wall puffing smoke into the cool evening air. The teal hair, the leather jacket, the hand casually in the pocket, James would recognise his nemesis Butch anywhere.  
  
They hadn't even considered how the other members of Team Rocket might have known about his dressing up as Moltres and that flamboyant performance but seeing Butch now it made perfect sense. Jessie and James hadn't heard anymore about them ever since they were arrested that day. They had no clue as to how long they had spent in jail this time. But one thing which was now crystal clear was that they were bailed out before Jessie and James had returned to Kanto and had clearly spread the events of that day around the HQ like a wildfire... it wasnt the first time of course that Jessie and James had unknowingly scuppered one of Butch and Cassidy's elaborate schemes and now it seemed they had enacted the ultimate revenge by making James the subject of complete ridicule and shame across Team Rocket.  
  
He continued watching Butch for another minute or so. He seemed somewhat relaxed as he smoked given he had only recently been bailed out of jail alongside Cassidy for a 3rd time. James wondered how on earth they kept getting away with it, how the boss hadn't handed their asses to them on a plate by now. Oh to be a favoured agent! Butch eventually dropped the butt end on the floor and crushed it under his boot before walking out towards the courtyard. James began to feel a red mist descend upon him. He no longer felt intimidated, he no longer felt ashamed. He felt angry and he knew then that he couldn't let them get away with this!  
  
He marched quickly out of the apartment and closed the door quietly behind him. Checking around to ensure no-one was watching, he set off down the corridor towards a fire escape he knew to lead out over the court yard. If he was quick enough, he would catch Butch in a secluded part of the grounds.  
Butch was not walking particularly fast given he was texting someone on his phone and thus was not fully aware of his surroundings. James opened the fire escape as quietly as possible and stood over the railings as Butch finally made his way past. As soon as he was directly underneath him, James pounced and sent both of them sprawling to the floor.  
  
Butch scrambled to his feet in shock and immediately squared up to James. His arm and forehead were badly grazed and he was covered in dirt.  
"The fuck do you think you're playing at???!!" He growled.  
"Hello Ponch" said James cooly.  
"The name is Butch and you know it!" Butch spat back. "What are you doing? Come to rape me or something?"  
"As if!"  
"Then what's your problem? You're acting as psycho as that Jessie!"  
"Flaming Moltres Butch!" Hissed James. "Or have you forgotten already? Because the rest of the Team Rocket camp sure haven't!"  
"Heh. Oh yeah that." Butch sniggered. "Well you had it coming you fairy! It should have been you going to jail that day for crimes against your sex! You're damn right we told everyone. It just confirmed what we suspected about you all along anyway!"  
  
James opened his mouth to argue back but no sound came out. The fear and anxiety of being constantly judged, abused and harassed was starting to prove too much and every cruel dig whether it came from Butch or anyone else was just chipping away at him further. He wished that the new found confidence he seemed to have acquired just minutes before had stuck with him a little longer.  
"Uh Jim-Bob you know you're bleeding right?" asked Butch.  
  
James felt up to his head again and blood was still seeping down the back of his head and dripping into his shirt.  
"Was it my belt buckle?" Butch asked quizzically as he attempted to closely inspect it despite it still being attached to his trousers. James shook his head.  
"No Butch. Someone...someone threw a can at me earlier" he muttered.  
Butch stopped and glanced up awkwardly. "Oh."  
  
He gazed uneasily at James whilst nursing his own scraped up arm. He noticed that James couldn't make eye contact with him and kept almost glancing sideways as if he was on edge, waiting for someone to attack him whether it was physically or emotionally. He was never the most outgoing of people but now he seemed more withdrawn than ever. It was kind of sad almost Butch thought.  
  
"Walk with me?" He muttered before realising what he had said. James looked up in surprise and after what seemed like an eternity, narrowed his eyes and nodded. The 2 men headed towards some gardens at the back of the HQ grounds then slowly continued wandering through the vast displays of plants and wildflowers.  
  
"So...how bad is it?" Butch asked eventually. James took a moment to gather himself and looked straight ahead. He found it easier than to look at Butch. He chose to ignore the light throbbing in the back of his head now.  
"Well obviously the can towards the back of the head wasn't great" he muttered. "I mean I take it we arent counting the deliberate barging into, the shoving and tripping up?"  
"Yeah...no...pretty standard stuff if you went to high school" Butch scoffed. James bowed his head. He figured there was little point in reminding Butch he went to a private school and such bullying certainly happened there as well.  
  
"Well maybe being spat at, the verbal abuse, name-calling. A load of lower level grunts turned on me yesterday. Mondo told them to knock it off but they just turned on him instead. Accused me of grooming him?!"  
Butch shrugged. "Well the spittings kinda nasty. Cigarette?" He whipped out his packet and offered one to James.  
"I will actually." James said as he took one and leant in for the lighter. He coughed a little as he took a drag much to Butch's amusement.  
  
"You don't need to suck that much Jimmy. Heh - bet you get told that a lot!" He cackled. But for the first time James's green eyes bore into his own and Butch was shocked to see angry tears brimming.  
"Ok...too far" he admitted. "So that's the worst no?"  
"No" croaked James. "How about being punched?"  
"Who did that?" Butch asked.  
"Tyson. Reckons I looked at him in that way. Was last week, the day after Dr Zagar and Dr Namba joked about 'curing' me in one of their experiments"  
Butch stared at James in disbelief. He hadnt realised the sheer scale of what his and Cassidy's gossip had caused.  
"Is that it?" He eventually asked.  
"Just one more thing" James muttered.  
Butch glanced up and bit his lip. Whatever this was...it wasnt going to be good...  
  
"1 grunt who was stupidly drunk the other night offered to rape Jessie for me, to show her what a 'real' man can do" James spluttered.  
Butch sropped dead on the path, stunned into silence and hardly daring to believe what he had just heard. He suddenly felt very queasy indeed and chucked the rest of his cigarette across the green. He turned slowly towards James.  
"That's fucking vile.." he whispered.  
"So tell me Butch... how would you feel if someone said that about Cassidy?" Asked James.  
  
"They would be a fucking dead man" spat Butch clenching his fists. "I literally would kill them with my bare hands". He continued ranting about hypothetical acts of revenge as James reached out and caught his arm.  
"Exactly Butch. I feel the same about Jessie and I told him so. Jessie is everything to me, if anyone hurts her...well..."  
The 2 men sat in uneasy silence for several minutes. Butch struggled to shake the image of anyone hurting Cassidy. Sure she was more than capable of handling herself but he still had an urge to protect her much to her annoyance. She meant everything to Butch as Jessie did to James...  
  
"So...ARE you gay then James?" He asked dubiously. James stared at him for a minute and then to Butch's surprise, shrugged his shoulders.  
"Honestly Butch? I don't know. I mean sometimes I think I might be, other times I'm attracted to girls too. I still don't know how I feel about Jessie! I mean sometimes I think I love her in a sister way. Other times well..."  
"...well?" Asked Butch.  
"I fanticize about her in the same way you do about Cassidy" replied James with a smirk. Butch turned a bright shade of red and gulped.  
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone" James continued. "Who would listen to me anyhow? But to answer your question, I still have a lot of thinking to do, trying to suss out who I am I guess. Which isn't easy when everyone here is giving me shit for it!"  
  
Butch sighed and walked over to the edge of the gardens which overlooked Viridian Forest. He couldn't help but notice a swarm of Butterfree flying high above the trees and kind of envied their freedom without any limits. He realised then just how trapped and isolated James probably felt, it was no way to live your life... Butch then realised that he wasn't exactly being honest with himself either.  
  
"I'm sorry James" he eventually said. "I will be honest...it'll take some time to get used to the idea that it's anything but unnatural. But...I won't judge you. You deserve to be able to be yourself I guess. I'm sorry too about our telling everyone about the flaming Moltres incident. We were angry and I suppose we just wanted to get a cheap laugh out of you both..."  
"Well it worked!" James replied pointedly. But to Butch's relief he was smiling when he said it. Both of them knew deep down that they never really had any issue with each other and that any perceived rivalry was stemmed from Jessie and Cassidy.  
  
They continued walking together and finally arrived at the canteen. Butch held open the door for James.  
  
"Just let me deal with them" he muttered.  
  
The 2 men walked inside and almost straight away James's heart began racing against his chest as the sniggers and stares started again. He glanced around hopefully but to his dismay, Jessie was still not back.  
"Look I'm just going to grab some food and get the hell out of here" he whispered to Butch who nodded back at him.  
"Whatever you need to do, like I said just let me deal with them"  
James started walking slowly over to the takeout sandwiches, but his path was suddenly blocked by Tyson who towered over him smirking. Cassidy appeared from behind him and grabbed at Butch's arm.  
  
"Hey there you are! Ugh why were you with him? You might catch something!" She said as she wrinkled her nose in disapproval.  
"He didn't do anything to you did he Ben? Will happily knock him out again!" Said Tyson cracking his knuckles.  
"No he didn't! Look listen guys...this is yesterdays news. Surely we can find something else to laugh at now??" Butch replied.  
Cassidy scoffed in amazement. "I don't believe this...you're sticking up for him!!!" She spat.  
"Oh god you're not one of them too?" Called out Domino. The whole room started shrieking with laughter. Butch glared at the pair of them.  
  
James's eyes grew wide, he made contact with Butch and mouthed "what are you doing??!" Butch winked at him, quickly grabbed a sandwich and tossed it towards him.   
"Just go Jim" he shouted. James didn't need telling twice and scuttled from the room sharpish beetroot faced. Butch remained and turned round confidently towards Tyson.  
"Like I said, yesterdays news!!! I think we've all gone far enough now. But just to make sure... I have some new gossip for you!"  
He turned towards Cassidy and walked confidently over to her. She smiled in bemusement at her partner. She had never seen him like this before. She kind of liked it!  
"Well spit it out Hooch we're dying to hear!" She laughed.  
Butch's brown eyes bore into her violet ones for what seemed like an eternity and before Cassidy had any chance to react, Butch grabbed and kissed her passionately. The whole room was stunned into silence, you could have heard a pin drop.  
  
"I'm in love with you Cassidy" Butch said. He then grabbed a sandwich of his own and made his way towards the door.  
"Gossip about that." He stated. "And lay off James yes?"  
Everyone in the room could only nod as he turned on his heel and swept out the door. The silence continued for several minutes before a scattering of excited chatter and giggling broke out. Tyson and Domino sat with faces like smacked bums. Cassidy, now red faced could only smile to herself in disbelief and shock, desperately trying to replay the last 2 minutes again and again...  
  
Back in Jessie and James's dorm room, James had arrived back safely and was relieved to collapse on his soft bed. It wasn't long until he heard Jessie's key in the door and she stumbled in laiden down with shopping bags. The friends embraced each other as they always did.  
"Good day?" Jessie asked him.  
James thought for a moment. "Yeah it was an interesting one" he explained everything to Jessie who was impressed that he found an unlikely ally in Butch.

"See underneath Butch is decent. Its Cassidy that drags him down" she declared.  
James rolled his eyes. "You WOULD say that!" This only earned him a playful smack from Jessie.  
"So what did you buy me?" He asked hopefully as he tried to rifle through the bags.  
"Surprise!" Jessie beamed as she produced the latest chick flick on dvd.  
"Oooh you know me so well!" James replied happily as he threw his arms around his partner.  
  
Jessie could only smile. This was the partner she loved and cared for so much. She hadnt seen as much of him since they had been back. The bullying had really got to him and he seemed to have lost his spark. The spark that although at times annoying, made James who he was. Tonight was the first time she felt she saw the old James.  
  
As the film started the 2 Rockets laid down and snuggled together on James's bed. Jessie's hand gently trailed up and down James's arm causing him to get goosebumps.  
"Promise to love me forever? No matter what?" James said sleepily.  
Jessie was surprised. "Of course. You know I will!" She leant forward and gently his forehead.  
  
Jessie knew that her partner was still trying to figure out who he was, she wasnt stupid. She knew that he was still trying to figure out how he felt about her. That was fine. Jessie figured having James in her life was the most important thing. He was the closest to family she had ever had and she would never abandon him.  
  
She glanced down at James. Typically he had fallen asleep as he always did when they put a film on! Sighing, Jessie got up, switched the T.V off and went to close the curtains. As she approached the window she couldn't help but smirk to herself. Their balcony overlooked Butch and Cassidy's room. It would seem Butch's little confession earlier had paid off for him!  
  
After texting Cassidy "might want to close your curtains..." Jessie climbed into bed and wrapped her arm around James. He was snoring lightly and Jessie could have sworn he had a small smile on his face.  
  
He was safe. He was himself. He was perfect. Regardless of where his heart may eventually lay, she wouldn't change a thing.  
  
  
The end.  



End file.
